Former Democratic presidential candidate and MSNBC host Al Sharpton implicitly attacked Republicans Saturday during a speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington.
Sharpton, who leads the National Action Network, spoke last at the event meant to commemorate the March on Washington organized on Aug. 28, 1963, in support of civil rights, and famously featured Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. In his speech, Sharpton criticized Republican’s position on transgender issues, diversity and voting laws, as well as former President Donald Trump, by referring to them as “schemers.” (RELATED: ‘With King George Or The Confederates’: Al Sharpton Claims Trump Wants To Be ‘King Of This United States’)
“Sixty years later we are facing affirmative action that has been suspended, and there are people that are trying to go after businesses. They’re going after diversity in large corporations. They’re going after firms. I want to announce today that we are going to fight back,” Sharpton began in his speech. He referred to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies that some corporations have adopted, which many Republican leaders have claimed harm meritocracy and unfairly treat white employees due to the color of their skin.
LIVE: #MarchOnWashington 2023 https://t.co/eXjM2FUCR9
— Martin Luther King III (@OfficialMLK3) August 26, 2023
“I’m like a doctor. I make house calls. We will march on the homes and the companies that if you think you can take money out of our communities, and cut us off, we are not going to allow that,” Sharpton vowed. “We are going to have a fall of economic sanctions against those that bow to this,” he threatened, without specifying what sanctions would be imposed, and by whom.
“They will not be able to turn back the clock. They have stopped blacks from voting. We are going to vote anyhow,” Sharpton said. Republican-led state governments in the south have been sued by civil rights groups who claim violations of the Voting Rights Act by accusing the GOP of drawing districts to prevent majority-black voting districts.
Sharpton then drew a contrast between “dreamers,” referring to left-wing activists, and “schemers,” referring to Republicans.
“The dreamers are standing up for women’s rights to choose. The schemers are thinking whether they’re gonna stop you at six weeks or 15 weeks,” he said, referring to abortion week limits imposed by some GOP-led states. “The dreamers are saying that if you’re LGBTQ or trans, you have a right to your life. The schemers are saying that we’re going to make you look like you’re not tolerated in human society.”
Sharpton implicitly criticized Trump, saying, “The dreamers are [here] in Washington, D.C. The schemers are being booked in Atlanta, Georgia, in the Fulton County Jail,” referring to Trump’s surrender at that facility on Thursday on charges regarding his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State.
“The dreamers will win,” Sharpton said in closing. “The dreamers will march. Black, White, Jewish, LGBTQ. We are the dreamers. Let us march in the name of the dreamers … It’s time to march.” “Everybody march. It’s the dreamers against the schemers.”
Trump’s presidential campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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